Spartans Shadows staff college football pick ‘em: Week 13 edition

Week 13 of the college football season is here and that means it’s time for our weekly Spartan Shadows staff pick ’em.

Hello, friends. Welcome back to the weekly Spartan Shadows staff college football pick ‘em. We have finally done it. It’s Rivalry Week. The last week of the college football regular season (for the most part) is upon us. We will have some spectacular games to pick from this week. Also look for some final position jockeying between our pickers before getting into conference championship week and bowl season.

Last week’s games had some really good games featured. Maryland kept it close with Michigan. Our Spartans went on the road and avenged our most frustrating loss from last year against Indiana. Washington and Oregon State played a classic of a game. Potential future Michigan State head coach Jedd Fisch was able to run it up again blow out No. 22 Utah at home.

Let’s check out the rest of the Week 12 results and see how our staff did with the picks.

Week 12 results

• No. 2 Michigan at Maryland — Line: Michigan -19.5; Result: Maryland cover
• No. 9 Louisville at Miami (FL) — Line: Louisville -1.5; Result: Louisville cover
• No. 16 Utah at No. 19 Arizona — Line: Utah -1.5; Result: Arizona cover
• Illinois at No. 22 Iowa — Line: Iowa -3.5; Result: Illinois cover
• No. 1 Georgia at No. 21 Tennessee — Line: Georgia -10.5; Result: Georgia cover
• No. 12 North Carolina at Clemson — Line: Clemson -6.5; Result: Clemson cover
• No. 23 Kansas State at Kansas — Line: Kansas State -9.5; Result: Kansas cover
• No. 5 Washington at No. 10 Oregon State — Line: Oregon State -2.5; Result: Washington cover
• Florida at No. 11 Missouri — Line: Missouri -11.5; Result: Florida cover
• Michigan State at Indiana — Line: Indiana -4.5; Result: Michigan State cover

Final observations from this slate of games: It looks like Clemson is coming back to normal a little bit after a disappointing start to the season. Georgia seems to also have gathered themselves and are turning back into the best team in the country. Potential future Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith is putting together an impressive season in Corvallis. Oregon State, despite losing to Washington, has looked really good so far. Even in the loss this week, they’ve been one of the few teams to be able to contain that high-powered offensive from Seattle.

As for our staff picks, overall we had a pretty average showing. Tops for the week were Joey and Max turning in 7-3 weeks. After that we have Hop, Daily, and MSU Recruits going 6-4. Emmett, Anthony, and I went 5-5 again to keep up the pace. Last, but certainly not least, our fearless leader Connor turned in a 4-6 record.

Shout out to Daily for pulling out a positive week after starting the first four games on the schedule 0-4. Clutch late round performance for him to keep up with Hop.

Updated standings after Week 12

1. Emmett and Hop: 65-51-4
2. Daily: 62-54-4
3. Chris: 60-56-4
4. Max: 59-57-4
5. Connor: 58-58-4
6. MSU Recruits: 57-59-4
7. Joey: 55-61-4
8. Anthony: 54-62-4

Side competition updates:

Hop vs. Daily: Hop is still out hear consistently hanging with the top of the leaderboard and Daily keeps fighting with him. The two of them both went 6-4 this week. No movement in their competition but congrats to them for putting up one heck of a battle. Hop leads by three games still.

Chris vs. Anthony: No matter what I do, I can’t seem to shake the 4-6 to 6-4 range. For a second straight week I went 5-5 again. For actual picks sake, that’s fine. I’ll take breaking even all day in betting world. I was hoping to be able to get some ground gained on the leaderboard or put some more distance between Anthony and I. No luck, of course. Anthony also went 5-5 this week to keep pace. My lead over him still sits at six games.

Now for this week’s games. Let’s check out what’s on the Rivalry Week slate.

Week 13 college football games

Disclaimer: All lines are as of 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 21, from FanDuel. All game times listed are Eastern Standard Time.

• BONUS: Packers at Lions, “The Thanksgiving Game” — Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX (Line: Lions -7.5)

Emmett: Lions
Hop: Packers
Daily: Lions
Chris: Lions
Max: Lions
Connor: Lions
MSU Recruits: Lions
Joey: Lions
Anthony: Lions

• No. 12 Ole Miss at Mississippi State, “Egg Bowl” — Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN (Line: Ole Miss -10)

Emmett: Ole Miss
Hop: Ole Miss
Daily: Ole Miss
Chris: Ole Miss
Max: Ole Miss
Connor: Ole Miss
MSU Recruits: Ole Miss
Joey: Ole Miss
Anthony: Ole Miss

•  Texas Tech at No. 7 Texas, “The Battle for The Chancellor’s Spurs” — Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC (Line: Texas -12.5)

Emmett: Texas Tech
Hop: Texas Tech
Daily: Texas
Chris: Texas
Max: Texas Tech
Connor: Texas
MSU Recruits: Texas
Joey: Texas Tech
Anthony: Texas

• No. 16 Oregon State at No. 6 Oregon, “The Civil War” — Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET on FOX (Line: Oregon -13.5)

Emmett: Oregon State
Hop: Oregon
Daily: Oregon State
Chris: Oregon State
Max: Oregon State
Connor: Oregon State
MSU Recruits: Oregon State
Joey: Oregon State
Anthony: Oregon

• No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan, “The Game” — Saturday at 12 p.m. ET on FOX (Line: Michigan -3.5)

Emmett: Michigan
Hop: Ohio State
Daily: Michigan
Chris: Ohio State
Max: Ohio State
Connor: Michigan
MSU Recruits: Ohio State
Joey: Ohio State
Anthony: Ohio State 

• No. 8 Alabama at Auburn, “The Iron Bowl” — Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS (Line: Alabama -14.5)

Emmett: Auburn
Hop: Alabama
Daily: Alabama
Chris: Auburn
Max: Alabama
Connor: Alabama
MSU Recruits: Alabama
Joey: Auburn
Anthony: Alabama

• Washington State at No. 5 Washington, “The Apple Cup” — Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX (Line: Washington -16.5) 

Emmett: Washington
Hop: Washington
Daily: Washington
Chris: Washington
Max: Washington
Connor: Washington
MSU Recruits: Washington
Joey: Washington
Anthony: Washington State

• No. 5 Florida State at Florida, “The Sunshine Showdown” — Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN (Line: FSU -6.5) 

Emmett: Florida State
Hop: Florida
Daily: Florida
Chris: Florida
Max: Florida State
Connor: Florida State
MSU Recruits: Florida State
Joey: Florida State
Anthony: Florida State 

• North Carolina at No. 22 NC State, “The Carolina-State Game” — Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ACCN (Line: UNC -3)

Emmett: North Carolina
Hop: North Carolina
Daily: North Carolina
Chris: NC State
Max: NC State
Connor: NC State
MSU Recruits: NC State
Joey: NC State
Anthony: North Carolina 

• No. 12 Penn State vs. MSU, “The Battle for the Land Grant Trophy” — Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC (Line: PSU -21.5)

Emmett: Penn State
Hop: Michigan State
Daily: Penn State
Chris: Penn State
Max: Michigan State
Connor: Michigan State
MSU Recruits: Michigan State
Joey: Michigan State
Anthony: Michigan State

Well there are the picks this week. I’m rather excited for college football Rivalry Week myself. The games are ones that just mean more for a lot of teams. Our staff seems pretty confident in the abilities of Ole Miss to win the Egg Bowl, Washington to win the Apple Cup, and Oregon State to keep it close in the Civil War up in Oregon.

Thanks everyone for all the support with our picks and our articles here at Spartan Shadows. We really appreciate each and every one of you for your continued support in helping us build this MSU community.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the wonderful football and most off all, Go Green!